National Marine Aquarium Plymouth to provide free online lessons
There will be key themes for each week to help children with their home learning
The National Marine Aquarium Plymouth will be providing the background for the broadcasting of an exciting series of free, live lessons.
The live lessons will assist with home learning whilst also providing a chance for children and their parents and teachers to gain some of the wellbeing benefits that have been proven to come from watching aquatic life.
Every Friday during lockdown, viewers will be able to tune in to two special shows on the aquarium's Youtube channel.
The first, 'Deep Science' (1:00pm - 1:20pm) will see the Aquarium's own Schools Team using aquarium exhibits and lab facilities to explore the science behind the animated ocean exploration tv series 'The Deep' (CBBC @12pm on weekdays during lockdown).
Key themes for each week are as follows:
- 15th Jan - Underwater Volcanoes
- 22nd Jan - Creature Classification
- 29th Jan - Nautical Navigation
- 5th Feb - Ocean Mysteries
- 12th Feb - Megafauna
- 19th Feb - Life Cycles
- 26th Feb - Looking after the Ocean
'Mermaid Tales' will air from 1:30 - 1:45pm and will involve a short story narrated by the Aquarium's resident mermaid, Marina.
"With the news of further school closures hitting the headlines in the New Year we wanted to make sure we were doing our bit to support the thousands of students and teachers who visit us at the Aquarium every year.
"Research has shown that encounters with marine environments (physical or virtual) have a powerful effect on our emotional state and general wellbeing, and with the country in lockdown there has never been a more important time to ensure everyone has access to a weekly dose of ocean. That's why we're launching our new live lesson series on Youtube starting this Friday the 15th!
"Whether you're looking for something to round your week off with a bang, or help you wind down for the weekend, our new Youtube live lessons series should hit the spot."
Stu Higgs - Schools Programme Manager for the Ocean Conservation Trust
The content of the lessons will also help children to feel part of the start of the global UN Decade of Ocean Science for sustainable development.